


Father Figure

by impish_nature



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, Young Soos, father/son bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 01:10:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8556823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impish_nature/pseuds/impish_nature
Summary: Soos doesn't understand why it's such a big deal.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Request fic (2/5)
> 
> AN: I went for younger Soos cause we always need more Stan and Soos bonding ♥

“You’ve never been- you’re not serious, are you?”

The young boy, barely a teenager, shook his head at the almost explosion of an interruption. His mouth snapped shut, staring wide eyed back at his suddenly concerned boss.

Mr Pines _never_ looked at him like that.

Or at least as far as he knew anyway.

And especially not for something as trivial as this. He hadn’t even _meant_ to say anything, it had just slipped out in the one moment that Stan had finally opened up to him just a little bit.

It had been a nice conversation to begin with, learning that his employer had once lived by the sea, what that was like for a start, and then it had slipped deeper and deeper and Soos had been enthralled. It was so strange to think of his boss as a kid at all, to hear about all the silly little things that a kid Stan got up to.

Then somehow he had ruined it all.

“I don’t know what you want me to say? No, I’ve never been fishing or yes, I’m serious?”

“Either- neither. How have you never been fishing? There’s a lake so close to here!” Stan’s arm gestured behind them, towards the vague vicinity of the lake, eyes still disbelievingly stuck on the poor confused lad. “Come on, kid. You’ve got to have been at least once- or sailing even?”

Soos shook his head, blinking at the pained noise that seemed to emanate from the older man.

“Turn the sign to closed, we’re going on a field trip.”

“But this isn’t school-”

“Don’t argue with me, kid.” Stan turned away from the now perplexed kid, shaking his head is utter befuddlement. “Never been fishing- how has he never been fishing!”

 

* * *

 

“Why are we doing this, Mr Pines?”

“Because- it’s something you should know how to do.” Stan nodded, still trying to thread his line.

“Oh really?” Soos looked over at him, trying his hardest not to rock the boat too much. He’d never really been in a boat before and he hadn’t expected it to be quite so wobbly as soon as he put one foot in it.

“Well, yeah.” Stan shrugged, suddenly caught off guard as he seemed to sit back and sigh. “I dunno, kid. Was just strange to me, that’s all. We always went fishing, and sailing and all that junk. Kids should know how to- should have the chance to do it. It’s good fun, relaxing and stuff.” He coughed, handing Soos the fishing rod that was ready to go before starting on his own. “There, try that.”

“Try what?”

“Try- oh, right, shi- never mind, just give me another few seconds.”

Soos waited, still bemused by the whole experience. He let his feet swing as he waited patiently, playing with the end of the fishing rod in unabashed curiosity and a small portion of glee.

He didn’t know why, but it felt good to be out here doing something just because ‘why not?’

“Are you intentionally rocking the boat?”

“Uhh-” Soos froze, eyes flicking over to Stan in a panic before realising there was a spark of mischief in his eyes. “No?”

“Good.” Stan nodded, carefully getting his line sorted before turning to him with a grin. “Otherwise I would have had to retaliate. And then we would have _both_ gotten soaked.” He waited for Soos to relax again before he stood up, jokingly swaying the boat slightly to get him to squawk. “Right...” He ignored the accusing look the boy gave him as he got his rod ready to cast. “So here’s how you do it.”

The afternoon went on in a similar fashion, Stan teaching things here and there, teasing Soos good-naturedly when he wasn’t successful but shouting his praises when he was. When his cast shot forward a good distance from the boat with a snap of the rod just as Stan had showed him, he’d cheered loudly, almost unsettling them with his exuberance. Then the lesson quickly shot on to catching a fish when Soos’s line unexpectedly dipped into the water, both of them excitedly panicking as Stan told him what to do.

The first one got away.

Soos bit his lip, sitting back down heavily, disappointed.

“Hey, what are you doing? No one catches every fish they hook. Now swing that line back out there and let’s try again!”

The second one was Stan’s fumble.

It had been bigger than he’d expected, almost upending the boat as he pushed himself back to get more leverage.

And just like that the fish got away, Stan stumbling and righting the boat in a flurry of movements.

“See? What did I tell ya? Things happen. After all, it’s not like you can tell the fish to do what you want, they want to win too.”

Soos couldn’t quite decide if it was all an act or not.

Not that he said anything, it was heartening to see the old man try so hard to lift his spirits.

The third fish was a success.

It took both of them working together, Stan winding in his reel and telling Soos to get the net. A joint effort when they pulled the fish on board, panting and staring at it in bright glee.

The fourth one was all Soos’s.

Stan gave him pointers, told him not to rush, told him to feel which way the fish was turning and go with it, anything and everything he could think of.

And then after a few tense minutes a small fish broke the surface, Soos slipping the net beneath it quickly to bring it on board.

 A heavy hand slapped his back, making him wobble slightly until the same hand grabbed his shoulder instead. “Whoops, sorry, but hey, look at you go! Your first fish, how does it feel?”

Soos just nodded, unable to really speak as Stan praised him. It felt good to have him crowing, to slip the fish into their bucket and tell him how proud his Abulita would be when he brought them back to her. He had never really expected it, never thought that fishing was more about the company than the actual process.

A nice day out on a boat, a clear sky and someone willing to sit beside you.

_Was that why Stan wanted to do it?_

Soos watched him with a beady eye for a few more moments, completely unnoticed. It wasn’t very often he got to see the man behind the gruffness. No scowl or abruptness, no fake smile for a punter that he thought he could get a few extra dollars out of.

The real Stan underneath it all, hardly ever came out.

But Soos knew it was there. Deep down.

He didn’t risk saying anything though, sat back down when Stan did and let the atmosphere wash over him. They carried on for a while longer, quiet and serene in their little bubble out on the lake.

Until Soos couldn’t keep it in any longer.

“Hey...Mr Pines?”

“Yeah, kid?”

“...Did you used to do this with your Dad a lot?”

Soos winced as Stan’s head snapped up from his rod. He’d had such a smile on his face, relaxed and small like he hadn’t even noticed he’d been doing it. But now his face shut down, eyes darting to Soos for a second before shifting back to his rod.

“No, kid...my Pa wasn’t up for much of anything either.”

“Oh.”

The air was charged for a second, Soos face dropping as he turned away from Stan.

He hadn’t really wanted to know that. He’d wanted to hear good stories about Stan and his Dad, to make up for the lack of ones he had.

Stan seemed to feel the air shift, a long sigh echoing out of him as he stretched.

“But you know...I did used to have a fishing buddy. We’d go out to the sea whenever we could, just to see what we could catch. Ma loved it when we brought back a few.” He smiled softly, face nostalgic as he thought about it, shaking his head hastily before turning to Soos with a wry grin. “Gone now, but hey look! Guess we’re doing the same, your Abulita’s sure gonna be proud of our haul, what do you think?”

“Yeah...” Soos smiled awkwardly back, not liking that Stan’s charming ‘for the tourists’ smile was making an appearance.

The silence stretched on for a second before Soos sparked up, an idea flickering to life that slipped out before he could think it through.

“Hey Mr Pines! How about I be your new fishing buddy?”

“What? Isn’t that what we’re doing, kid?” Stan raised an amused eyebrow, watching Soos splutter away.

“Yes- no, I mean! Why don’t we...do this more often?”

Stan stared at him for a minute, voice an odd gruffness that Soos couldn’t quite pin an emotion to. “You trying to get out of work?”

“What? No! I love working at the shack.”

“Good.”

The boat went silent again, Soos starting to feel crestfallen as Stan seemed to rebuke his idea.

“Heh, you know what? Next time we go sailing, how does that sound?”

Soos’s face lit up like the sun as Stan stared resolutely forward, trying his hardest not to look at the practically vibrating boy beside him. “You mean it?”

“Yeah, yeah, would I say it if I didn’t?” Stan coughed, gesturing weakly. “I mean someone’s got to teach you these things, after all. Might as well be me.”

“Thanks, dude!”

“Oi, its Mr Pines not dude- don’t think I’m going soft on ya! You’ve still got to work just as hard at the Shack- No, in fact you’ve got to work twice as hard!”

“Of course, Mr Pines!”

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Stan is a good dad and you can’t convince me otherwise.


End file.
